“I’ve got th’ dope on your big sister, Stella.” (98)
I know all about your sister. From the Dutch word for sauce or gravy, dope could mean extra information/flavor. Dope is often a reference to a semi-liquid type of opium, and so the term in the sense of having inside information comes from knowing when horses were drugged to influence their performance in a race.
“The cat’s out of the bag”
The secret is revealed. From in Medieval times when scurrilous pig sellers would put a large cat in a bag instead of a piglet.The discerning buyer would poke the bag and the cat would reveal itself, thus incriminating the vendor.
“Some canary-bird, huh!”
An informer A female singer, usually with a dance band. This meaning often has connotations of a promiscuous woman.
“But Sister Blanche…”
Catholic nuns are called Sisters. Stanley uses the term ironically to indicate that Blanche’s past behavior was anything but nun-like.
…is no lily!”
The lily represents youth, purity and innocence, because of it’s perfect white color. It is also the customary flower at funerals.
Being called "lily" means being pale, lifeless, and/or cowardly.
“It’s a Barnum and Bailey world…”
Barnum and Bailey was the name of a famous circus in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Circuses often involved disappearances and magic tricks that made fake things seem real.
“She pulled the wool over your eyes.”
To deceive, to blind someone to the truth.
“Without your love/ it’s a honky-tonk parade!”
A honky-tonk is a type of bar with musical entertainment common in the Southern United States. The term reportedly came from the sound of geese which led an unsuspecting group of cowboys to the flock instead of to the variety show they expected. The term "honky" is black slang for a white person, derived from bohunk and hunky, which were derogatory terms for Bohemian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants.
“The same old line, the same old act and the same old hooey.”
In this case, a “line” is a lie or bad excuse. “Hooey” is a word for nonsense, foolishness, or more crudely, bullst.
“She became a town character. Regarded as not just different, but downright loco—nuts!”
In this context, a “character” is a strange or outrageous person. “Downright” means completely or absolutely. “Loco” is a Spanish word that means crazy, and “nuts” is a slang term that also means crazy or insane.
“…when Dame Blanche was called on the carpet!”
When Blanche was called to the Superintendent’s office to be fired
“…Had her on the hook good.”
When fishing, one often uses live worms on one’s hook so that the fish bite it and get caught. Often when the worm is put on the hook it will squirm, but will not be able to extract itself from the situation.
“The jig was all up.”
A lively social dance, or a piece of sport, trick.Thus “when the jig is up” it means that the trick is over and everything is revealed.
“Possess your soul in patience!”
Luke 21:19: In your patience possess ye your souls. (King James Bible). Blanche wants Stanley to have patience with her.
“It’s not my soul, it’s my kidneys I’m worried about!”
Kidney: an organ that filters the blood and water in one’s body.Possibly Stanley’s remark refers to the amount of steam let out by Blanche’s bath? Interestingly, the kidneys wer thought to control one’s temperament (16th century).Could Stanley be making a veiled comment about what his temperament might do if Blanche doesn’t hurry up?
From the Dutch word for sauce or gravy, dope could mean extra information/flavor. Dope is often a reference to a semi-liquid type of opium, and so the term in the sense of having inside information comes from knowing when horses were drugged to influence their performance in a race.
From in Medieval times when scurrilous pig sellers would put a large cat in a bag instead of a piglet. The discerning buyer would poke the bag and the cat would reveal itself, thus incriminating the vendor.
A female singer, usually with a dance band. This meaning often has connotations of a promiscuous woman.
Being called "lily" means being pale, lifeless, and/or cowardly.
The term "honky" is black slang for a white person, derived from bohunk and hunky, which were derogatory terms for Bohemian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants.
Or: Amanda Wingfield tells her daughter Amanda the same thing in Williams' other play The Glass Menagerie http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmGlassMenagerie25.asp
It could also be a reference to a Hamlet line en.wikipedia.org/wiki/References_to_Hamlet
http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/streetcar/critical.htm
Interestingly, the kidneys wer thought to control one’s temperament (16th century). Could Stanley be making a veiled comment about what his temperament might do if Blanche doesn’t hurry up?
Sources Used**
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php
Dictionary.com [[http://dictionary.reference.com/%3C/span%3E%3Cspan|http://dictionary.reference.com/<span]] style="COLOR: #333333">.
Luke 21:19, King James Bible